


Counter-Measures

by AXEe



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alien Invasion, Alternate History, Gen, Lovecraftian Monster(s), Superheroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:08:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24931303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: More original work from me! Enjoy! :=)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	Counter-Measures

**Author's Note:**

> More original work from me! Enjoy! :=)

The **International Counter-Measures Group** ( **ICMG** , or **ICG** ) most commonly referred to simply as **Counter-Measures** , is an international organization whose purpose is the _‘reaction, investigation, and response to paranormal and extraterrestrial threats to Earth, regardless of political affiliation or ideology’_. As of 1961 it encompasses most of the world’s nations and has outposts on both the Moon and Mars.

**Overview**

Counter-Measures is overseen by the United Nations Security Council with its members being seconded from the national armed forces and academic circles of its member-states, as well as recruiting a wide variety of civilian agents due to various skillsets they may prove beneficial to Counter-Measures.

Counter-Measures can traces its origins to the aftermath of the World War I, having been founded as a response to the variety of strange occurrences that had plagued the world towards the end of the 19th century, most significantly the **1897 Harvester Invasion** and the ensuing arms race for the remaining alien technology which led to the outbreak of World War I.

Following the end of the war, Counter-Measures began to police and regulate the trafficking of Harvester technology and its derivatives forms as well as opposing a resurgence in eldritch cults and the resulting sprees of murder and human sacrifice.

**History**

Founded in the wake of the devastating—but ultimately failed—Harvester Invasion of 1897, noted inventor and renegade **Captain Nemo** met with former American infantryman, **John Carter** who had been transported to Mars through unknown means several years earlier and had followed the invasion fleet to Earth in a vain attempt to warn the rest of humanity of the invasion.

Despite being too late to warn of the invasion, Carter nevertheless joined forces with Nemo to try and avert a potential arms race over the remains of alien technology left behind following the mass death of the aliens.

The arrival of John Carter also revealed that the invaders were not native to Mars but had instead come from another, far distant, planet and had invaded the Red Planet and, after being successfully driven off the planet by the native Martians, had turned their attention towards Earth. This revaluation led to the ‘Martians’ being commonly referred to as ‘Harvesters’ due to their predilection for stripping a planet of any and all natural resources.

Together, Carter and the mysterious Nemo combined the Martian technology brought by Carter with Nemo’s own inventions—in particular that technology which had gone into the creation of Nemo’s famed submarine the _Nautilus_ —in an attempt to create new technologies to hopefully fend off another invasion from the stars as well as both working to ensure that as much of the remaining alien technology remained out of the hands of unscrupulous individuals.

**The Eldritch Wars**

As the 20th century dawned and the world rapidly rebuilt from the ravages of the aborted Harvester Invasion, another conflict between humanity and an alien intelligence began. Known as the **Eldritch War** or the **Eldritch Wars** , this conflict, unlike the 1897 Invasion, was fought as a type of ‘shadow’ war between various fanatical religious cults who worshipped a race ancient and powerful eldritch beings—whom they collectively referred to as the **Great Old Ones** or simply as the **Old Ones** —as gods and the various individuals and groups who opposed these cults and their ‘gods’.

One of the most prominent figures of the Eldritch War was **Randolph Carter** (a distant relation to John Carter) an antiquarian and struggling author and a former student at Miskitonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts.

Following an encounter with occultist Harvey Warren who was subsequently killed by one of the Old Ones, Carter began to vigorously seek out and document as many encounters with these beings and their worshipers as possible, even continuing to document his encounters during his service in the French Foreign Legion during the First World War, thereby providing valuable information on the Old Ones and their followers.

Another figure of note in the Eldritch War was the disgraced biologist known only as **Dr. Moreau**. Although now viewed by most as an unstable madman who committed crimes against nature, Dr. Moreau’s contribution in opposing the Old Ones and their worshipers cannot be denied. His pioneering work in early genetic engineering and surgical grafting—resulting in the creation of his so-called **Beast Folk** —laid the groundwork for the modern fields of cloning and microsurgery. The Beast Folk were also vital in directly combating the Old Ones and their worshipers following the outbreak of World War I.

As the First Would War raged on, the Germans began to use occult methods, including mesmerist **Dr. Caligari** a criminal who had been pressed into serving the German war effort. Another key figure was the German engineer and inventor **C.A. Rotwang**. Often compared to Nemo in terms of genius, Rotwang’s greatest invention was the **maschinenmensch** (literally ‘Machine Person’) a robot in the form of a woman who served as a spy and assassin for the Germans. The maschinenmensch eventually went rogue, taking the name **Maria** for itself, disappearing into the post-war confusion but later reappearing during the Second World War as a freelance agent for the Axis Powers before being destroyed by a mob in the final hours of the war.

It was during the First World War that the mysterious figure known only as the **Astrologer** appeared. A seemingly-immortal genderless being claiming to be _‘older than human civilization’_ and always appearing as ghostly, shadowed figure during their rare appearances, the Astrologer brought the previously-hidden Eldritch War into the light, informing not only the world’s leaders but the public at large as well by appearing simultaneous to every person on the planet at the time.

With the knowledge that humanity was at risk from a far greater threat than an aggressive nation, both the Allied and Central Powers were spurred to end the war as quickly as possible, resulting in the November 11 ceasefire and peace treaty with Germany.

With the war’s end, the newly-formed League of Nations, at the urging of the Astrologer, formed Counter-Measures with the express purpose of fending off any large-scale assault by an eldritch cult or misuse of any further Harvester or Harvester-derived technology regardless of political ideology.

**Masks**

As the 1920s dawned, an upswing in political and financial corruption from the newly-affluent upper-middle classes resulted in a counterpoint of so-called **costumed vigilantism** , the individuals who practiced this form of vigilantism became collectively known simply as **masks** due to their habit of dressing in increasingly-elaborate costumes to protect their identities and were endemic across almost every nation, with many masks fighting on both sides during the Second World War. The first and most famous of these costumed vigilantes was an individual who operated out of New York City known only as the **Woman in Black**. The identity of the Woman in Black remains unknown to this day.

Many masks still operate to this day and some have become agents of Counter-Measures. One such agent of note is **Solitaire King** , a former thief who operates under the identity of **the Fox**.

**Author's Note:**

> C.A. Rotwang was the mad scientist in the landmark 1927 silent film "Metropolis" who created the robot Maria, which inspired C-3P0. Dr. Caligari is also from German cinema, being the title villain of the 1920 silent film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" which is seen by many as the "first true horror film" as well as being considered a quintessential example of German Expressionism.
> 
> John Carter was created by author Edger Rice Burroughs (creator of Tarzan) and was the hero of Burroughs' Barsoom series, in which Carter is transported to Mars (called 'Barsoom' by the natives) and becomes a classic pulp-style hero. In 2012, on the character's 100th anniversary, Disney released the film "John Carter" based on the first book A Princess of Mars.
> 
> Randolph Carter was created by H.P. Lovecraft and is one of the few recurring characters in Lovecraft's works, appearing or mentioned in a total of seven stories. The character is often seen as a stand in for Lovecraft himself, sharing many of Lovecrat's personal traits, most significantly being a struggling writer who isn't noticed during his own time.
> 
> The alien invasion in 1897 alien invasion and Dr. Moreau were created H.G. Wells, while Captain Nemo was created by Julies Verne.
> 
> The Astrologer. the Woman in Black, and Solitaire King are all mine. Do you hear me? They're mine and you can't have them!!! All mine!!!
> 
> Anywho, let me know what you thought :=)


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